Technological Romance
by Bluest-of-Jayys
Summary: Some endings are new beginnings, and some new beginnings are facilitated by small children, teddy bears, or the Hetalia Dating Service. M for later chapters. AU. SuFin.  COMPLETE
1. Chapter 1

**What what. I'm back.  
>I've been wanting to post a SwedenxFinland fic here for a while and I kind of crapped this chapter out while staying up late. My friend N beta'd it, so thanks to him. 3<br>Something short and lighthearted because I just finished my NaNoWriMo novel and I'm somewhat written out. :P  
>Title taken from Teen Girl Squad because my imagination broke. :  
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><p><strong>Chapter 1<strong>

It was just the two of them in a house too large.

Of course, he had done all the interior designing by himself, but that was beside the point.

He knew that when he sat at the dining table with his son Peter, or held him in his arms in the living room, there was nobody else flitting about their house, nothing but pure emptiness and nice furniture.

It was the same way when they were apart. When Peter was up in his room with his PC and he was downstairs eating, it felt like he was all alone; he couldn't even hear the sound of Peter's video games.

All Berwald Oxenstierna wanted was for someone to make the house a little less lonely.

"_I'm leaving you, you're just way too serious and scary, Berwald."_

"_But..." _

_"Is that all you can say? Fuck it, Berwald, grow a goddamn backbone."_

She left the house that day two years ago, leaving nothing but emptiness in her wake. He would rather have had it if she took the house in the divorce proceedings, but under the pretext of wanting to be "free like a bird," she left it to him along with their son. She ran away laughing and disappeared into nothing, leaving Berwald to live the lonely life of a single father in this huge house. Peter was his only solace, and some days he just wanted to sit on the couch and hold his precious son all night long, but the precocious seven-year-old had other plans, usually involving his computer games. But when he did forsake his computer for his papa, it made Berwald so happy.

There was no problem with money; interior design paid well, especially since Berwald was good at it, but it was a friendless job, working at home while Peter was off at school.

"Papa, you don't look so well."

Berwald was putting away clean dishes when he heard Peter, sitting at the kitchen island with his afternoon snack and cup of juice.

"Do I, Pete?"

Peter nodded. "Yeah. Are you sick?"

Berwald shook his head. "'m fine. Got no cold."

"Then are you sad, papa?"

Berwald froze, letting the saucer in his hand fall to the floor with a crash. It shattered.

"Papa, are you okay?"

Berwald cursed under his breath and knelt to pick up the shards of ceramic scattered across the tile floor. He threw them out and took a seat next to his son. "Ya migh' b' righ'," he said quietly, "Papa migh' b' sad..." He pulled Peter into his arms. When he was sad, hugging Peter always made things better.

"Are you lonely, papa? Do you miss mama?"

"Yea."

Peter buried his head into his father's chest. "Mama's not gonna come back, is she?"

"Don' know."

"Maybe we should get a new one."

Berwald stiffened. It was an odd and somewhat derogatory way of putting it, but sometimes the greatest wisdom came from the lips of a child.

Peter continued. "At school, Raivis told me his mama found him a new papa through the internet."

Ah, yes. The internet. Peter's favorite thing next to his stuffed bear Walter.

Maybe an e-romance was something Berwald needed to get himself out of this lonely rut. He didn't really have any friends, most people were alienated by his stoic appearance and stern looks, as his ex-wife was. He kissed his son on the forehead. "Mebbe Raiv's mama did th' righ' thing." He let go of his son and got up. "Dinn'r will b' ready by sev'n, so don' fill up. Do yer homew'rk too, 'kay?" "Where are you going, papa?" asked Peter, chewing on an animal cracker. "T' find ya a new mama."

**To Be Continued**


	2. Chapter 2

**The writing process is going slow-ish because of lack of inspiration/getting distracted by Homestuck, but I finally caught up to Homestuck and my imagination is searching throughout the galaxy from my brain. I can totes do this. B-)  
><strong>

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><p><strong>Chapter 2<strong>

It was great to start over. Tino had never felt so clean, and what better way was there to celebrate this newfound feeling of cleanliness than taking a symbolic shower after hauling box after box into his new house?

Okay. Maybe he was just gross and sweaty from lifting them up and putting them down, but he liked to think it was a totally deep thing, taking a shower in the cute little shower stall in his new house's bathroom.

Okay. Maybe the shower stall wasn't that cute and was more of a nasty, putrid shade of army green. It was pretty damn tiny, too. In fact, his whole house was pretty damn tiny, especially compared to the large, old house he had shared with Ivan, far far away. That old house had space, beautiful interior and exterior decoration, and smelled like apples. His new house had zero embellishments, nary a flowered bush under his window, was as tiny as fuck, and smelled like old people, on top of all that. However, it was better in the sense that it was about a gajillion miles away from Ivan. A fresh new start.

Tino finished his shower only to find a text message on his phon from his good friend Eduard. _Hey, Tino! Gonna come over in a bit for a little housewarming, k? See you!_

As if on cue, there was a loud knock at Tino's door. He quickly dressed himself in faded jeans and a gray T-shirt and answered it.

"Hey Eddie! How are you doing?" He hugged his friend.

Eduard hugged him back. "Pretty well, but I'm supposed to ask _you_ that. How's the new house?"

"Small," answered Tino, shutting the front door behind them, "but it's lacking in stupid ex-boyfriends named Ivan which makes it a 5-star mansion compared to the last place."

Eduard laughed. "Tino, you just need to forget about Ivan. Mention him again and I'll shave your head."

"No! I like my hair!" Tino raised his arms protectively.

"I think you need a boyfriend who won't treat you like shit." Eduard opened Tino's laptop, which sat on the coffee table among other odds and ends. "Do you not have internet yet?"

"Nah. Borrowing sketchy wi-fi from a neighbor." He let Eduard work his technological magic, enter his neighbor's wi-fi network, and watched as he began typing in a url.

h t t p : / / w w w . H e t a l i a D a t i n g S e r _

"_Perkele!_" Tino cussed, grabbing his laptop out from under Eduard's fingers, "An online dating service? Are you crazy?"

"It's what everyone's doing these days," Eduard answered coolly, swiping the laptop back from Tino. "Get with the times, Tino."

Tino was unsure about this, he had met Ivan at a carnival and most importantly in person, but he dubiously let Eduard have his way and create a profile for him. He could just delete it later, anyway. He leaned back against the couch he and Eduard were sitting on. He didn't want or need another boyfriend, he had literally just gotten out from under Ivan's oppressive thumb and the single life awaited him: all of a sudden, he had so much free TIME. _I should take up a hobby,_ he thought, _maybe interior decorating or something like that. This house is absolutely drab._

"There, I'm done." Eduard puffed out his chest proudly and motioned to the computer. "Consider yourself a single fish in the sea of love."

Tino suppressed the urge to kick Eduard in the shins for that terrible line and took a look at the computer screen.

_Name: Tino Väinämöinen  
>Age: 24<br>Hometown: Helsinki, Finland  
>Current Town: Stokholm, Sweden (the suburbs)<br>Interested in: Men  
>Looking for: An un-oppressive boyfriend.<br>I like dogs, gardening, first-person-shooter games, salmiakki, cooking, and big sexy men with accents. I also like dancing but I'm not very good at it, and I like watching movies. Action movies and romantic comedies are my favorites._

Eduard had even uploaded a recent picture he had on his phone of Tino smiling in front of a giant fish tank at the Helsinki aquarium.

Now Tino _really_ wanted to kick Eduard in the shins and maybe even in the groin, too. "Big sexy men with accents? Are you kidding me?"

"Well, considering your dating history," Eduard said, rolling his eyes, "There was Ivan, of course, then there was that really tall guy from north Finland who spoke some really weird Finnish, and that one Danish guy, and that one Brit you dated in high school might count, too. All tall, all strong, and all with sexy accents."

"Wow, I hate you so much." Tino shut the computer. His profile would _definitely_ need to be deleted the moment Eduard stepped out of his house...

...Which wasn't until around 9:00 PM that night, after hours of catching up and watching action flicks while eating tons and tons of popcorn, and by that time, he had already fallen asleep on his couch.

**To Be Continued**

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><p><strong>Shitty ending OTL don't eat me. o_o<strong>


	3. Chapter 3

**WHOA An update!Quick update before I have to go shower and sleep. Sorry for such a short chapter, but the next one is so long... I feel like I'm being so uneven with this, Berwald is the best~ I feel like I'm not writing about him enough. :C**

**Chapter 3**

The site recommended for men like him was "HetaliaDatingService", so he logged on and created a profile. If he was looking for a new wife and a new mama for Peter, he would have to remain truthful. 

_Name: Berwald Oxenstierna  
>Age: 28<br>Hometown: Linköping, Sweden  
>Current town: Stockholm, Sweden (the suburbs)<br>Interested in: Men and Women  
>Looking for: Someone who can see into me and love me for who I am. Also, a plus if heshe would like to cook with me. I'm an interior designer.  
>I like cooking, ABBA, teddy bears, and comedy movies. I also have a 7-y-o son named Peter. He is a sweet kid with a big heart and eyebrows to match. <em>

He spent about an hour trying to take a good profile picture with his webcam then instead settled for a picture of him and Peter posing in front of a sand castle, taken at the beach the summer before.

There was still an hour left before he had to start preparing dinner for him and Peter, so he decided to use his time to peruse possible matches. The first person on the list, Tino Väinämöinen, seemed to be a cutie, according to his profile picture. Looking through his profile, this Tino had what interested Berwald: a love for cooking and big sexy men with accents. Hopeful, he sent Tino a message.

"_Hi, my name is Berwald, you seem like an interesting person so I was wondering if you'd like to talk sometime. Thank you."_

He took another look at Tino's profile picture, of a round-faced young man smiling at fish in an aquarium. He definitely was cute. Hopefully they would get a chance to talk.

Now all he had to do was go and make dinner and wait for a reply.

That night, after Tino had finally managed to get Eduard out of his house without seeming like a total jerk, he re-opened his laptop, which was still on the Hetalia Dating Service page, only to find that he had already been sent a message from some guy named Berwald who lived in the same town as he did.

"_Hi, my name is Berwald, you seem like an interesting person so I was wondering if you'd like to talk sometime. Thank you," _read the message.

Tino clicked on the link to Berwald's profile. The profile picture was the first thing he noticed. Unless Berwald was the shrimpy-looking kid with the massive eyebrows playing in front of the sand castle, he was goddamn sexy. Tall, well-built, and he smiled gently at the child playing in the sand. He read through Berwald's profile. Apparently this kid was his son, Berwald was bisexual, and liked to cook as well.

"Someone who can see into me and love me for who I am..." Tino mumbled, reading from Berwald's profile. "I wonder what he means by that. Oh well."

Berwald had definitely caught his interest. Tino sent him a reply. "_Hi Berwald! I'm Tino, nice to meet you. I'm open to talking, hope to talk to you soon!_"

Hm. Maybe it would be better if he said–oops, he pressed send. Oh well. _This is me, take it or leave it, Ber._ he thought.

Meanwhile, Berwald's computer sat off and alone, its owner upstairs sitting in a beanbag chair too small for his adult butt, holding a book. Next to him was Peter, tucked into bed.

"...An' they live'd hap'ly ever afte–Oh, yer asleep..." He flicked off the light switch, brushed back his son's bangs, and kissed him on the forehead gently. "'Night, son. L've ya."

Behind him, he closed the door with a soft click, and plopped himself down on the hallway floor outside Peter's door. It had taken so long to get him into bed and off into dreamland, he was ready to pass out on the floor himself. But no, he found the strength to stand up, pad over to the bathroom, take a shower, and brush his teeth.

As he walked back to his bedroom, now dressed in blue-and-yellow pinstriped flannel pajamas, he passed his office. On his tidy desk sat his computer, still off and alone. He wondered if Tino had sent him a reply message. He shrugged and sat down in front of the machine. It wouldn't hurt to check.

He did indeed have a new message from Tino, saying that the man had accepted his proposition of having a chat. Unfortunately, Tino was not online at that moment, and Berwald was tired enough to fall asleep on his keyboard, so he lethargically typed out a reply. "_Thank you. it's ben suuch a long day for me... My son is a handful but i lOve him. I read him a bedtme story jst now. aim probably making al sorts of typos but i Tihnk i'm about t fall AslEep. Good night. Also howS yuor day ben?_"

Wow. That probably was the worst typing job Berwald had ever done. Ever.

_Too tired..._ he thought, shutting off his computer and rising from the chair. He dragged himself to his room and flopped unconscious onto his bed, not even staying awake long enough to pull the covers over himself.

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><p><strong>Have you ever sent an email while you were tired? It's not fun. :C<strong>

**To be continued...**


	4. Chapter 4

**So if Homestuck doesn't distract me, Kpop does. (Listening to Fiction by BEAST right now. TT^TT) Maybe I just have a terrible attention span? Oh well. Have more Sufin! :D  
>I'm going nuts writing this story. I really like it.<br>**

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><p><strong>Chapter Four<strong>

_"Tino, where are you going?" _

_"Oh, just to see some friends." He opened the ornate wooden door of the house they shared and stepped over the threshold. _

_"You don't want to do that, da? It's very late at night." With a loud scrape, Ivan pushed his chair back and stood up, his great height darkening the shadows around Tino. _

_"No... Ivan!" Tino felt hands close around his throat..._

XxX

"Aaagh!"

Tino jolted awake and glanced at the alarm clock. 10:00 AM. _Man... What a dream..._ he thought, pushing away the covers and stepping onto the cold hardwood floor. His ex was the last thing he wanted to think about right now. Focusing on his rumbling stomach instead, he languidly dragged himself to the crappy mini-fridge the house had come with and took inventory of his foodstuffs, or lack thereof.

_Wow, I should really go shopping,_ he mused, heading back to his bedroom to throw on something more acceptable than his blue-and-white plaid flannel pants and dirty, off-white T-shirt.

He reemerged from his room in dark blue jeans and a white long-sleeved shirt with black butterflies screen-printed on it. It was one of his favorite shirts; he felt like such a badass wearing it. Nothing says badass like black butterflies. He made his way to the door, preparing himself for the mid-October chill that would rush into his house the minute he opened it.

What he wasn't expecting was a cheery chorus of, "Hello, neighbor!" to rush in with that cold air.

Tino stood dumbstruck at the strangers. "Um... Hello?" he said, "Who... Um... Is this?"

An entire family of four, two adults and their young children, stood on his doorstep. They all had pretty blond hair of a shade slightly yellower than Tino's, as well as crystal-clear blue eyes. "I'm Agneta," the woman said, her short hair curling around her chin, "this is my husband Valentin, and these are our kids, Janna and Alexander." Her husband was tall, broad-shouldered, and round-faced, and their kids were both cute and cherub-like, a boy and his older sister. "We're your new neighbors, and welcome to the neighborhood!"

"Thanks," Tino replied. These people seemed nice.

"Well, we just wanted to say hi," said Agneta, turning to leave, "but if you need anything, don't hesitate to knock on our door! Nice to meet you!"

"Yeah, you too!" Tino watched as the family left, walking back into their house. He stepped outside, locking the door behind him. It was time to get some food.

XxX

Tino got back around eleven AM, plastic bags from the supermarket hooked over his arms. He finally had food, and could finally have a meal more than microwave popcorn or instant noodles. He unloaded his purchases into the minifridge and icebox. He really needed to get an actual refrigerator.

For lunch, he simply made himself a sandwich, pressed under a spatula over a greased and heated frying pan, sort of like a makeshift panini press. He took his sandwich over to his ratty couch, sat down, and ate as he opened his laptop and surfed the internet.

Checking his account on the dating site, he found that Berwald had sent him another message. He almost recoiled. "_Thank you. it's ben suuch a long day for me... My son is a handful but i lOve him. I read him a bedtme story jst now. aim probably making al sorts of typos but i Tihnk i'm about t fall AslEep. Good night. Also howS yuor day ben?_" The spelling was atrocious, and it almost looked like Berwald had typed the message with his face rather than his fingers.

"_Oh wow, you do sound tired! I hope you got a good night's rest! What story did you read your son? You're such a good papa to him. :) It's really cool. My day? I just met my new neighbors. They seem like nice people, and they have these adorable children around Peter's age! I went grocery shopping today too, and I found a bunch of 'help wanted' ads too. Gonna try to get a job. :D How are *you* doing?_" Typed Tino. He sent the message, turned off his computer, and grabbed his phone and the ads he found. It was time to get money.

XxX

Berwald lay on the low-standing couch in the living room. Peter was at school, probably on the playground during lunch recess right now. It felt like he was living in a cave. A nicely decorated and personalized cave, but still a cave. It was big, empty, and almost felt cold despite him having turned up the thermostat. He had finished the floor plan for his client already, and picked out several possible color schemes for their room. This particular request was easy, he only had to work on one room, and now he was bored.

On the coffee table was his laptop and an empty plate scattered with crumbs, the remnants of his lunch.

He reached for the laptop. _What the hell,_ he thought, _Maybe I'll check my messages._ Once he logged onto the dating site, he did indeed find that he had a new message from Tino. It was longer than the other messages they had sent each other, and in it, Tino spoke about his day and his hopes of getting a job, and at the end, he even asked how Berwald was doing. This was definitely a forward step in getting to know each other.

XxX

He logged on later, after he and Peter had dinner. They sat on the couch watching the Friday Family movie playing on TV, Berwald with his laptop propped up on his knees and Peter staring with rapt attention at the Television. Peter had his bear, Walter, cradled in between his arms, and Berwald was looking at furniture online.

Berwald decided to sneak a peek at the dating site again. He bookmarked the furniture he wanted to use for his client later, and opened up the site. He smiled slightly when he saw who was online.

XxX

Tino was cooking a late dinner in the kitchen when he heard his computer emit a loud *ping* from the coffee table. Leaving the water boiling, he decided to check. It suspiciously sounded like someone was Instant Messaging him, maybe Eduard, or maybe even... he gulped... Ivan? _Oh God, if it's Ivan..._

Would that be a good thing or a bad thing?

He pressed the space bar to bring his laptop out of sleep mode. The dating service website window on his browser had been left open, and someone was messaging him using the site's Instant Message feature.

**Berwald Oxenstierna:** Hey I saw you online and wanted to say hi.

Berwald Oxenstierna. Not Eduard, or Ivan, but Berwald Oxenstierna, the mysterious man who had found his profile and wanted to talk to him. He felt a pang of disappointment that it wasn't Ivan, but waved it away and concentrated on carrying a conversation with this sexy and cool-looking man. He replied:

**Tino Väinämöinen:** hi then =) how are you?

**Berwald Oxenstierna:** I'm doing fine, thanks. You?

**Tino Väinämöinen:** haha, things are going pretty well here. I just moved into my new house in the suburbs of Stockholm yesterday. Your profile says that you live in the Stockholm Suburbs too, where do you live?

**Berwald Oxenstierna:** Do you know the flower shop run by a woman named Mrs. Eriksson? I live about a block away from it. Where did you move from?

**Tino Väinämöinen:** Helsinki. :/

**Berwald Oxenstierna:** But that's in Finland...?

**Tino Väinämöinen:** yeah, I'm Finnish. I learned Swedish in school.

**Berwald Oxenstierna:** That's cool, but why would you move all the way out here? Tino?

...Are you still there?

**Tino Väinämöinen:** yeah, I am um... it's not a story i'm really ready to tell today.

**Berwald Oxenstierna:** Okay. If you don't want to talk about it now, that's fine. :) But if there's ever a time when you want to, then I'll listen if you need me to.

_Oh my..._ thought Tino, _this really is a nice guy!_ He was pretty sure people like this didn't exist. Now it was Tino's turn to ask questions.

**Tino Väinämöinen:** Where are *you* from?

**Berwald Oxenstierna:** Linköping. Kind of far but not ridiculously far. Needed to move to Stockholm for my job.

**Tino Väinämöinen:** what do you work as?

**Berwald Oxenstierna:** Interior designer. If you ever need anything done in your new house, give me a call. :)

_Well, that's one way to exchange phone numbers,_ Tino added Berwald's phone number into his phone.

**Tino Väinämöinen:** is it all right if i call you? can I call you right now? :D

**Berwald Oxenstierna:** Sure, go ahead. It'll make me really happy.

Tino picked up his cell phone and dialed Berwald. He answered on the first ring.

"Hi," Berwald's voice echoed through the receiver, deep and calm. Tino felt shivers run down his spine. He had one hell of a sexy voice. "Is this Tino Väinämöinen?" he asked.

"Uh... Yeah!" Tino answered meekly. Berwald chuckled. It was a deep rumbling sound that made Tino want to laugh as well, and soon they had both collapsed into fits of giggles.

"Oh man," said Tino breathlessly, "I needed that!"

Berwald made an affirmative grunt. "'M glad y' called me," his voice grew quiet. "Wanted t' get t' know ya."

Tino smiled. "Me too."

They talked well into the night, only pausing to let Berwald put his sleepy son to bed. Tino had never had this sort of connection with anyone before, not even Ivan, where he could just fall into a fit of laughter and not worry about looking good. Heck, he even snorted a couple times. Berwald was the type of person who said the least but meant the most, and their conversations ran from what type of furniture went best with a throw rug to the pros and cons of Sweden's "Red-Green Coalition."

When Tino's cell phone grew searing hot from too much use and Berwald's deep voice began to drag, they decided it was late and had to go to sleep. They said their goodnights and hung up with promises to call each other the next day.

Tino left his phone on the coffee table and trudged over to the bathroom to brush his teeth. Afterwards, he rolled into bed, a satisfied smile on his tired face.

_New beginnings?_ he thought as he drifted off to dreamland, _I think so. _

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><p><strong>To Be Continued LIKE A BOSS WHAT.<br>Also, I had a ridiculous amount of people subscribing to this story, way more than I'm used to, so WHOAAA THANK YOU GUYS. I THINK I LOVE YOU.  
><strong>


	5. Chapter 5

**WOWWW Look what I wrote.  
>I'm so tired and I have to work on my paper now. I hope you enjoy this. 3<br>**

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><p><strong>Chapter Five<strong>

"Mr Väinämöinen! Mr Väinämöinen!"

Tino looked up from the cat door he was installing for his neighbors, the family who had greeted him yesterday. It was a job they offered to pay him handsomely for, taking the neighbor thing almost too far. Tino could see that they really were good people who wanted to get him off the ground in this new place, and he appreciated it. He put down his screwdriver and stood up. Approaching him were his neighbors' kids. "What's up, Janna, Alexander?"

"It's Mr. Crispypaws!" Janna began to cry, "He's stuck in a tree!"

Tino could not get over the awesomeness of his neighbors' cat's name. He placed his hands on Janna's shoulders. "Calm down, Janna. Where is he?"

"The park."

"Okay, I'll help you get your cat back. I'm building this cat door for nothing if no one's gonna use it," he laughed.

The kids took him to the park. "Up there," Alexander pointed to a medium-sized tree, its broad, browning leaves casting fall colors onto the ground below. Nestled among the leaves was a fluffy white cat with a pale blue ribbon collar tied in a bow. "That's him."

"Okay, I'll have Mr. Crispypaws safe on the ground in a jiffy," said Tino, taking off his jacket and giving it to Alexander. He climbed up the branches, nimble as a monkey, slowing down as he approached the cat so as not to frighten him. He straddled the limb he was on, leaned forward, and reached towards the soft white feline.

"Oops."

The cat nimbly jumped out of the tree and into Tino's jacket, which was being held out by the kids, leaving Tino in the tree holding the ribbon collar. "Okay, I guess that works, too." He mumbled, scampering down the tree.

Tino escorted the children back to their house with their cat to play in the yard as he worked. He finished aligning and twisting in the last of the screws as Agneta peeked through the completed cat door, her petite face suddenly appearing through the flap.

"Ahh!" Tino scooted back, surprised by her sudden appearance.

"Hi Tino!" she said, "Thanks for installing the cat door!" The flap closed and the front door opened. She stood, her plaid skirt hanging around her skinny ankles. "How about you and the kids come inside for some snacks?"

"Sounds good, Agneta!" Tino grinned. He put away his tools and followed Agneta and the children inside.

Agneta had already set up the table with fresh cookies and hot tea, just what Tino needed after working outside in the chilly fall air. He sat down at the table between Janna and Alexander, who immediately reached for cookies once their bottoms hit the chairs. They had hoarded most of the cookies, only leaving a few for Tino to pluck off the plate.

Janna glanced at Tino, nibbling a cookie and sipping his tea. She plucked a cookie off her dish and placed it in front of Tino. "Thanks for getting Mr. Crispypaws back," she smiled at him. Tino smiled back.

"No problem," he said.

Alexander simply pursued his lips and copied his sister, placing another cookie on Tino's plate. Tino reached over and pat the boy's blond hair.

He spent most of the rest of the day at his neighbors' house helping Agneta and Valentin with chores and playing with Janna and Alexander. It hadn't been long since he had met them, but he absolutely adored these kids. Their smiles had already made his day several times over, and it was fun playing hide-and-seek and tag with them.

Late in the afternoon, he decided it was time to go home. The kids were all tuckered out and so was he. He said good-bye to the kids, kissed their sleepy brows, and was on his way to the kitchen to say goodbye to Agneta and Valentin when they handed him a fat white envelope.

"This is to thank you for all your hard work today," Agneta looked as if she were almost about to cry tears of joy, "Without you, we wouldn't have gotten so much done."

Valentin nodded. "And the children love you, Tino. We'd be overjoyed if you'd come to babysit for us."

"Oh, I'd love to!" Tino replied, overjoyed. "They're lovely children!"

"Thank you," said Valentin, "Please, feel free to come over anytime!" Tino chuckled. "Thank you!"

**XxX**

Berwald lay on the couch, his laptop on his stomach, looking at possible end tables for his client's room. Several sample paint strips from the hardware store were scattered over the table, along with his glasses. He was tired. He thought this would be an easy job, but his client was probably the most fickle, hard-to-please person ever. Every time he came up with what he thought was a brilliant idea, it was shot down without a second thought.

He turned off the laptop and placed it on the coffee table among the paint samples and closed his eyes. He still had a few hours before he had to cook dinner, and Peter was up in his room doing homework. Maybe it was a good idea to get a little shut-eye.

**XxX**

"Papa, papa! Your phone's ringing!"

Peter stood at the foot of the stairs leading into the spacious living room, holding the cellular device in his hand. "Papa?"

The only response from the unconscious man on the couch was a loud snore. Peter frowned. His papa had the most annoying ringtone ever, some old song by some old band called ABBA that only old people listened to. He bounded over to his sleeping papa and landed on his stomach."Papa, wake up!"

"HURGH!" Berwald snapped awake at the sudden weight on his belly. "Pete'! What're ya doin'?" He sat up, rubbing his sore stomach.

"Phone," Peter replied bluntly, "Dunno who it is." He produced Berwald's Blackberry. Berwald took the phone from his son, his heart jumping at the caller ID.

"Oh!" His eyes widened, pleasantly surprised. "Tino!"

"Who's Tino?"

Berwald blushed. "Uh... Why don' ya go play in yer room, papa's got some grown-up business t' take care of."

Peter shrugged and walked off. _Man, grownups are weird,_ he thought as he left.

Berwald pressed the talk key on his phone. "Hullo," he said.

"Berwald!" Tino's voice echoed cheerily through the receiver. "What took so long?"

"'Was sleepin'," he replied with a yawn.

"Oh man, I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to wake you up!"

"Nah, not yer fault. My son's, actually." Berwald chuckled.

"Really? What'd he do?" Tino sounded interested.

"Jumped on m'belly."

"Oh my God!" Tino guffawed, "I'm so sorry... I feel terrible for laughing... But..."

"Nah, no need fer guilt, I think it's funny too." Berwald allowed himself a small smile. "Gotta love kids."

"Oh! Speaking of kids, you wouldn't guess what I did today!"

"Really? What?" Tino cleared his throat.

"Okay. Get ready. So I have these neighbors who have small children around Peter's age,"

"Mm-hmm..."

"And they have this cat named Mr. Crispypaws,"

_That sounds like a terrible name for a cat,_ thought Berwald. "Continue..."

"And Mr. Crispypaws got stuck in a tree! So I went over and I climbed up the damn tree like a total pro and I rescued the cat!" Tino finished off proudly.

Berwald laughed. "Congrats," he said.

"No no no! That's not all," Tino replied, "these kids, Alex and Janna, they absolutely love me! They are the absolute most adorable kids ever, and their parents love me too! I'm like, their babysitter now! BOOYAH! Source of income plus I get to spend time with those angels!"

Berwald smiled. Tino seemed happy. That was good. It also turned out that he was great with kids. That was even better. "I'm happy fer ya," he said, "kids are the best. They're so sweet."

"I know! It makes me want to be a papa!" Tino cheered. "Like you!" 

_Mama,_ Berwald corrected mentally. "Hey," he said, thankful that Tino could not see the redness creeping across his face, "Maybe you could come 'nd babysit Pete' sometime."

"That sounds like a great idea!" said Tino, "Man... I love kids..."

Together, they ranted back and forth about how great it was raising children and how rewarding of an experience it is, despite the sacrifices that needed to be made when one had a child. All the while, Berwald thought about how great a mama Tino would possibly make some day, and as the conversation took a break for Berwald to order pizza for him and Peter and for Tino to dig around in his icebox for something to heat up, all Tino could think about was how much he'd love to babysit for Berwald.

**XxX**

Several weeks passed, long days where Tino and Berwald lived their separate lives and ended their nights with long phone calls or IMs.

Finally, one night, over Instant Message, Tino finally asked: 

**Tino Väinämöinen:** Could we possibly meet up sometime? I'm dying to meet you in person. :D 

_Meet me in person?_ Berwald's eyes widened at the computer screen. _Ow,_ he screwed his eyes shut, reaching for the bottle of artificial tears he kept in his desk drawer. His eyes had been pretty dry lately, damn this winter dryness. 

**Tino Väinämöinen:** Hello? Berwald? I mean, if you don't want to meet up now that's fine with me... 

**Berwald Oxenstierna:** No no no, it's not that. Sorry... Now that the seasons are changing, my eyes are drying out, so I had to put that artificial tear stuff in them. Anyway, I'd love to meet you. Was there a place you had in mind?

Tino almost jumped for joy. He was going to meet Berwald! Then the feeling of excitement faded, replaced by nervousness. His stomach did backflips. _What if he doesn't like how I look? Idid gain weight recently... _he looked down. _Damn, my thighs are fat..._

He gulped, his Adam's apple bobbing up and down, and poised his fingers to type a reply on the keyboard. It was now or never that he would meet Berwald, and he'd rather have rejection now rather than spend all his time waiting and wondering. 

**Tino Väinämöinen:** there's a cafe near the bus stop called cafe elizabeth, have you heard of it? 

**Berwald Oxenstierna:** Yeah, I go there all the time. They make good peppermint mocha lattes. =) 

**Tino Väinämöinen:** I was thinking that'd be a good place to meet. I'm free on Saturday at noon. :D

**Berwald Oxenstierna:** That's great! Oh and... I'm not sure how to put this... But we should wear something to identify each other... like a flower or something.

**Tino Väinämöinen:** LOL You are such a romantic! 

**Berwald Oxenstierna:** Yea, I guess I am. 

**Tino Väinämöinen:** That's a good idea though... How about a red carnation?

**Berwald Oxenstierna: **Okay! So when I get to Cafe Elizabeth, I'll look for someone wearing a red carnation. I'm going to wear one too. I have to go pick Peter up from his friend's house now, I'll see you on Saturday at noon, okay? =) 

**Tino Väinämöinen:** It's a date!

**XxX**

It took several tries for Berwald to fit his key into the ignition of his Volvo. His hands were shaking at the prospect of finally meeting Tino Väinämöinen. _What if he thinks I'm scary?_ he wondered, horrified at what the outcome might be. _What if he decides to never speak to me again? What if I do something stupid?_

Even when Peter was finally sitting in the backseat, prattling on about how awesome his friend Raivis's video games were, Berwald could only nod and grunt, still distracted by those questions swirling a hurricane in his mind.


	6. Chapter 6

**WHOAAA Chapter six, guys. Hope you enjoy.  
>Not really anything to say tonight (this morning?) because I'm too tired and trying to write chapter 8 (7 is done~).<br>And yes, there *will* be smut. Soon. Very soon.  
>Sooner than you think.<br>That being said, I think Tino and Berwald are both smokin' hot. 'Nuff said.  
><strong>

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 6<strong>

Tino scanned the crowd at the cafe once, twice, three times, keeping his eyes peeled for the faintest hint of red. He was fooled many times throughout his search for Berwald and his red carnation by crimson lipstick and scarlet hair and was ready to quit and consider himself stood up when the cafe door behind him opened suddenly, making way for the scariest-looking man Tino had ever seen, with a small, thickly-eyebrowed boy hovering around him, and most importantly, a red carnation pinned to his blazer pocket.

He wanted to go home, dammit.

XxX

He wanted to go home, but no, instead, he was sitting across from a bespectacled man with a frightening look in his sea-green eyes and a small boy in his lap, cautiously sipping a peppermint mocha latte Berwald had bought for him.

"So... I finally get to meet you!" Tino said in a quaky voice, forcing a smile on his face.

Berwald smiled back, but the expression looked more like a grimace than a smile. "Nice t'meet ya too," he said quietly, his voice deep like a Lion's rumbling roar, "and this is m'son, Pete." He motioned to the boy on his lap.

"Hi Peter," Tino smiled at the boy, who was infinitely less scary than his father, "I'm Tino, your papa's told me a lot about you." Peter giggled.

"I bet my papa thinks you're pretty," he said, the innocent smile of a seven-year-old melting Tino's heart.

Berwald almost choked on his coffee, requiring a pounding on the back from one of the waitresses. His face turned a deep red and he pushed his glasses higher on the bridge of his nose. "Yeah," he mumbled, looking down, "I do."

"Papa's telling the truth 'cause he only tells the truth when he's with me or Walter," Peter grinned proudly.

Berwald prayed that his son would just shut up and Tino wouldn't ask who Walter was.

"Who's Walter?" asked Tino.

Berwald would have choked on his coffee again if he hadn't chugged it all down the last time. "He's... Me n' Pete's... Uh... Teddy bear."

Tino almost wanted to reach over and hug Berwald and Peter. This father-and-son pair was almost too cute. _Maybe Berwald isn't such a scary guy,_ he thought, _He wasn't so scary when I talked to him online..._ he recalled what Berwald had said in the "looking for" section on his profile: "_ Someone who can see into me and love me for who I am._" 

_I think I get it now,_ Tino realized.

This "inner Berwald," underneath the shell of stoicism and scariness, was warm, bashful, and such a mother hen, from what Tino could see after being with this man for the few weeks they had known each other, yet he could also sense a strong pride within his heart, a promise to defend what he held dear to the death.

Tino took another sip of his latte, gazing at Berwald and Peter again. Peter was now trying to put on Berwald's glasses and he was trying to take them back, lecturing his son on how it would ruin his eyesight if he put on other peoples' glasses. 

_Yeah, I don't think I'd mind being loved by someone like this..._ he smiled. He was a brave, badass Finn, he wouldn't let Berwald's rough exterior deter him from the gem inside.

He almost didn't notice when Berwald took the flower off his jacket and slipped it behind Tino's ear. "Fer you," he said with a small smile. Tino felt his heart swell.

"Thanks," he smiled back.

XxX

"Do you have any place to go in mind?" asked Tino, finishing his coffee.

Berwald hung his head. Tino jolted, he almost looked like a large puppy being reprimanded. "'M sorry," he said, "I had som'thin' nice planned but I couldn' find a babysitter fer Pete'..."

Tino couldn't help but smile and place one of his small, dove-like hands over Berwald's. "It's all right," he said, "the more the merrier." Resting his chin on the table, Berwald looked at Tino, his sea-glass-green eyes large and focused intensely on him. It was a hard expression to read, almost scary, but Tino could see a bit of admiration behind that frosty sea-glass. He sighed contentedly, rubbing his thumb against the back of Berwald's hand. "I wouldn't mind babysitting him with you sometimes, he seems like a good kid. You raised him well."

"Thank ya," said Berwald. Stoking his fatherly pride gave him the willpower to sit up again. He liked the feeling of Tino's fingertips rubbing against the back of his hand, and placed his other hand on top of Tino's. The back of Tino's hand was smooth and pale, and reminded him of the soft glow of an incandescent lamp. He had to grit his teeth and curl his toes to keep from picking that hand up and kissing it.

Tino put his other hand on top of Berwald's, effectively completing their stack of hands. "Hand-wich," he chuckled, "like sandwich but different!" Peter leaned over and put his hands on top, and Berwald let deep peals of laughter rumble from within. 

_From afar, we probably do look like a family,_ he mused as Tino lifted his hands and let the tower tumble, much to his and Peter's amusement. His heart pounded as Peter leaned up to give Tino a kiss on the cheek. He only kissed his papa, and before the divorce, his mama, that way. It was obvious Tino already had Peter's approval... Maybe he had found his new "wife"?

XxX

There was a playground near the cafe that Berwald and Peter usually frequented; that was where they went.

Peter immediately made a beeline for the swings as Berwald and Tino seated themselves on a bench in view.

"You really love your son, don't you?" Tino asked, holding Berwald's hand.

"Mm-hmm," the larger man replied, a small smile tugging at the corners of his lips. "M'ex-wife left us a while ago. He's th' only family I've got. Can't not love m'own flesh n' blood, 'specially when I've been blessed with such a sweet boy." His eyes glazed over. "He's worried 'bout me, y'know? He's th' one who wanted me to set up a profile on that datin' site, and he's th' one who wanted us t' meet up." He turned to Tino. "I was scared," he murmured quietly, leaning in so only Tino could hear. "M'face scared away m'ex-wife. Didn' want t' scare you too."

Tino felt his face redden. There was no way of coming up with a respectful verbal response other than "Mm-hmm," so he squeezed Berwald's hand and decided to tell him the truth.

"I was a little scared at first," Tino admitted, "Like... You're so tall and stuff." He reached up to itch his cheek sheepishly. Glancing at the dejected expression on Berwald's face, he added, "Um, I didn't mean that you're a scary person!" He looked down. "I saw past it... You're really adorable."

"Adorable? Don' think anyone's ever described me that way," Berwald smirked, "At least, not since I was seven."

"Yeah. Um... What I mean is... Man, how do I explain this?" Tino felt his mouth grow dry as he scrabbled for an explanation. "It's what's inside that counts... Or some cliché shit like that."

"I get it." Berwald shushed him with a long finger placed against Tino's lips. Secretly, he was brimming with joy: he had actually found someone considerate of Berwald's inner self, and strong enough to look past his frightening glares and stoic nature to the playful papa he really was. It almost made him want to say "forever" after only a couple weeks of knowing Tino.

Peter rushed over to the couple. "Papa!" he called, "I want you and mama to push me on the swing!"

"Mama?" asked Tino quietly.

"Mm-hmm." Berwald allowed himself another grin, "The kid adores ya, Tino."

"Well then," he blushed, walking over to the swing set.

_So do I,_ thought Berwald.

XxX

Berwald, Tino, and Peter had fun running around on the playground together, pushing Peter on the swings, and taking turns on the slide until it was near 4:30 PM and the autumn sun was beginning to set.

"Did you drive here?" asked Berwald.

"No, I took a bus."

"It's gettin' dark, I can give ya a ride..." Berwald absentmindedly scratched his cheek. _Too soon? I hope I don't seem like a creep..._

His doubts were nullified when Tino took him by the hand and said, "Sounds good."

Soon, they were in Berwald's Volvo, with Berwald driving, Tino sitting in the front passenger seat, and Peter buckled down in the back. Tino gave Berwald directions to his house, occasionally pointing out which street to turn onto.

Berwald pulled into the asphalt driveway. "'Ere we are," he said.

Tino's pouty lips pulled into a frown. He actually had been having a nice day with Berwald and didn't want it to end. Of course, the guy had to get his kid home, but Tino didn't want him to leave without taking a parting shot at his heart. Tino oh-so-gently spidered his fingertips up Berwald's arm, relishing in the larger man's shivers, and whispered coyly, "Walk me to the door?"

Berwald put on his best seductive smirk and led Tino out of the car. "I'll be back soon, Pete'. Gonna walk Mr. Väinämöinen to his house."

"Take your time, Papa." Peter replied, sitting on the edge of his seat with an affirmative, "go-for-it-papa!" smile on his face.

They stood on his doorstep, murmuring breathy "thank you"s. "I like you," Tino smiled, "can we go out again sometime?" It was now or never. He leaned into Berwald's shoulder and rested his arms around the taller man's waist. Berwald's large hands immediately went to caress Tino's back.

"Name a date 'nd I'll pick ya up," he answered, "I like ya too, yer a good person."

"Aww."

Berwald looked down at the face of the man he was holding. Tino's plump cheeks were flushed and his nose was slightly reddened from the cold, reminding him of apples, and his violet eyes were hooded. Sand-colored bangs obscured his forehead and framed his face, and his lips, slightly parted, were a dusty pink begging to be kissed. His knees went weak when Tino's tongue peeked out to moisten the crescents, sexier than any porn Berwald had ever seen.

"C'n I kiss ya?" he asked quietly, moving to cover a throat-clearing cough with his hand.

Tino grinned, those pink lips turning upwards and sending dimples into his cheeks. "Do you even have to ask?"

Berwald gave a small chuckle and leaned down. "Oops." His nose bumped into Tino's.

Tino laughed. "Oh man, we're so awkward. Let's try that again."

Berwald giggled and leaned in again, silencing Tino's laughter with a passionate kiss to the lips.

He wouldn't want to force Tino into making out with him–he was a gentleman, of course–but he hoped Tino got the clue that Berwald really, really liked him.

He broke off the kiss before he got too needy and with a peck on the cheek, turned to leave. "I'll call you tomorrow," he said.

"Good night!" Tino called, "Tell Peter good night too!"

Berwald smiled back at Tino and waved as he got back into his Volvo. "I will. G'nigh' t' ya too!"

XxX

As they drove home, Peter leaned his face against the car window, chilled by the autumn night air. "Papa," he said quietly, "I want Tino to be my mama."

"Maybe," answered Berwald without taking his eyes off the road, "Maybe."

* * *

><p><strong>Continued...<strong>


	7. Chapter 7

**Happy holidays, guys. Here, have some sex. Er... Almost-sex. Cockblock!Agneta and Peter, FTW!  
>Agh Tino stop being so hot. Look what you're doing to poor Berwald!<br>**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Seven<strong>

On their second date, Peter went to his friend Raivis's house for a sleepover, leaving the couple to take a taxi to a small restaurant somewhere in the heart of Stockholm, taking up a window seat and amusing themselves by staring at the people outside the window and making up funny stories about who they could be. They split a bottle of champagne, and when Berwald discovered how high Tino's alcohol tolerance was, he was amazed.

However, it seemed that booze had the effect of making Tino rather amorous. After finishing off the bottle, Tino was just a bit more than tipsy, leaning over the table to brush his fingertips over Berwald's forearm with a coy smile and a lick of the lips. "Ber," he grinned, "Oh man, is it okay if I call you Ber? Berwald is kind of a mouthful..." 

_Believe me, you don't want to know what I want your mouth full of right now,_ Berwald thought, pushing his glasses higher on his nose.

"Anyway," Tino laughed, "Thank you for taking me out!" He traced small circles on the back of Berwald's hand. "Maaaan... I'm having such a _great_ time..."

"Me too," replied Berwald. He entangled his fingers with Tino's.

They held hands like that as they paid for dinner and caught another bus back to Tino's house, where Berwald's car was parked. All during the bus ride, Tino sent him tipsy smiles and rested his hand a little too high on Berwald's thigh.

Berwald realized that he couldn't be sated by chaste presses of lips to lips. He wanted more. He wanted to kiss Tino until he was bruised, taste his milky white skin, run his large hands up his inner thighs... Thinking about all these things made him dizzy. But no. He had to steel himself and wait. Patience was the key.

And then Tino would be his.

XxX

For their third date, Tino had the brilliant idea to invite himself over to play games with Peter. Berwald hoped that Tino wouldn't have the audaciousness to tempt Berwald in any of those _oh so tantalizing_ ways he had, but every time Peter's back was turned, he found himself reaching towards Tino's ass or being pulled down into a quick kiss, then Peter would turn around again and they'd be back to their innocent game of Jenga or cards or whatever they were playing.

Later that night, after Tino had left (not before planting a searing kiss on Berwald's lips), and after Berwald had spent fifteen minutes in a cold shower trying to get rid of the raging hard-on he had for the man, Peter came up to his father with five small words:

"I saw you kissing mama," he said, climbing onto his father's bed.

Berwald almost spit out his evening chamomile tea all over his pajamas. "Hrnngh?" He grunted.

"Yeah!" continued Peter, curling up next to Berwald, "So do you like mama?"

Berwald was silent.

"...Papa, don't make me get Walter." Pouted Peter.

"..."

"Ugh, papa, you're so frustrating!" sighed the boy, climbing back down the bed and dashing out the room. He rushed in less than a minute later, carrying with him a large, white teddy bear. "Here," he said, thrusting the stuffed animal into Berwald's arms. "So do you like mama or not?"

Berwald sighed, hugging the bear to his chest. "Yeah..." he sighed, burying his face into the bear's soft fur, "I love Tino. 'E's strong, spectacular, and 'e can see me fer who I am... I wanna treat 'im right. Wanna make 'im yer new mama... And m'new wife."

Peter smiled and snuggled by his father's side. "That's good, papa."

XxX

On their fourth date, Berwald decided to return the favor and invite himself over to Tino's house for a lovely evening in (after having Tino's neighbors watch over his son, of course). When he stepped inside his house and looked around, he almost wanted to cry.

It was so DRAB and BLEARY, he could not believe that Tino, his bright-spirited, colorful little boyfriend was living in a hovel that was probably previously owned by a deranged geriatric with cats or eight college boys at once. The walls were whitewashed with stains and cracks in the plaster, the flower-print couch was coming apart at the seams, and the poor man didn't even have a refrigerator, only a mini-fridge (supporting Berwald's college boys theory) and a small ice box.

Tino felt the arm around his shoulder stiffen and looked up. Rather than seeing Berwald's normally stoic and straight face, Berwald was stricken with a look of absolute terror. "Ber, are you okay?" he asked.

"...I think so..." he whimpered.

Tino almost had to laugh at Berwald's reaction to his house. The terrible condition it was in was probably hurting his poor interior decorator's soul. And he had to admit, the house wasn't exactly the best one on the market. He had gotten it pretty cheap in his desperate rush to get away from Ivan, not caring about how cold or tiny the shack was as long as it was a jillion miles away from Helsinki. But he didn't have very much money on him; he was starting a new life from scratch, so this tiny shack would have to do.

"Don't focus on the house, sweetie," he said, pulling Berwald down onto his couch, sending them tumbling. "Focus on me."

"Oh God..." Berwald couldn't help but stare as Tino began to unzip his blue hoodie, revealing a low V-neck T-shirt made of thin cotton exposing not only a delicate collarbone, but Tino's peaked nipples as well.

"Yup."

Berwald wrapped his arms around Tino's waist, drawing him in. He leaned his head on Tino's chest as the smaller man kissed his flaxen hair. "Berwald," he whispered, "these last few weeks have been amazing."

"I feel th' same way," he replied, sliding his hand under Tino's thin T-shirt to rest on his smooth tummy. He wiggled his fingers, eliciting a high-pitched laugh from his boyfriend as he was being tickled.

"Oh my God Berwald, stop it!" He giggled, pushing Berwald away gently and falling on top of him. Berwald grabbed the sides of his face and crushed his lips against Tino's in a messy kiss. Desperately their hands roamed each others' bodies as their shirts were pushed up.

When air got too scarce, Tino pulled away. Berwald gazed at him from below, wiping a bit of drool off his cheek. "I love ya..."

"Hm?" Tino's eyes widened. Had Berwald really used the "L-word" with him? He almost thought his heart would leap out of his throat. "You... Love me...?"

_Oh, shit._ Berwald wanted to smack himself. _I was too soon! Stupid, stupid, stupid!_ He looked away, scratching his head. "Uh... y'know what... Um... forget I said anything..." He mumbled.

Tino collapsed onto Berwald's chest. "Oh my God, Berwald..." he said quietly, "Oh my God... I'm so happy..."

_He's happy?_ Berwald thought, eyes widening in surprise. There was probably something he should have said, but when he tried to speak, all that came out was a puff of air.

Tino gave a nervous laugh. "Hah, I thought I was the only one." He rested his chin on his hands so he could look Berwald in the eyes. "I love you too, Ber," he smiled, gently brushing his lips against Berwald's.

Berwald wrapped his arms around Tino and hugged him tight. "I love ya. I love ya so fuckin' much, Tino."

He was silenced by another kiss, this one with more of a fiery passion. Tino's tongue dove into Berwald's mouth as Berwald rutted his hips against Tino's, hands sliding down his jeans and underwear to cup Tino's perfect ass.

"Dammit, I think it's illegal somewhere to be this sexy..." Tino sat up, pushed his crumpled shirt over his head, tossed it on the ground, and unzipped his jeans. Berwald followed suit. He sat up and pushed his glasses up his nose to get a better look at Tino, who straddled his lap, flushed, shirtless, and hard, so erotic that he had to fight the urge to bend him over the coffee table and fuck him senseless right then and there.

Tino scooted up, moaning as his crotch rubbed against Berwald's. Berwald reached up and brushed his thumbs over Tino's nipples, eliciting a tiny squeak as he pinched them between calloused thumb and forefinger. "Yer skin's so white," he murmured, letting his hands dance lazily across Tino's torso, "'nd smooth. Like cream." He leaned up, trailing his lips along Tino's chest. _More._ He wanted _more._ For a second, he wondered if Tino's skin really did taste like cream, and lapped at one of his lover's nipples, flushed pink, swirling his tongue around the areola. Tino laced his fingers through Berwald's hair, holding him to his chest, which rose and fell with every heated breath he panted out.

"Oh God, Berwald..." he moaned.

Encouraged by the moans and gasps, Berwald's hands moved downward, catching the elastic of Tino's cotton boxers and pulling them down. He smirked. Tino's erection was already flushed and dripping pre-cum onto Berwald's lap. The younger man had already melted into a messy puddle of need, rutting against Berwald and leaning down to capture his lips in an open-mouthed kiss, heated tongues sliding sensually against one another.

Tino noted with displeasure the feeling of Berwald's own silk boxers pressed against him. He broke off the kiss to slip a hand between them and watch as he gently tugged down Berwald's underwear. A cheeky grin lit up his face; Berwald's large cock was blushing wantonly, his pre-cum streaking Tino's stomach as Tino lowered himself back down, returning to kiss Berwald. "You big sexy beast," he whispered, gracing Berwald's ear with his lips.

"Wanna take ya. Righ' now," the larger man grunted, reaching between their bodies to take hold of both of their cocks, jerking both of them off. The heat spiraled through him, pooling between his legs, his cock burning where it touched Tino's. He couldn't think straight; the entire universe had disappeared, leaving only him, Tino, and the couch they were on.

Tino moaned at Berwald's touch, bucking his hips into his lover's busy hand. "A-ah... Ber... Don't s-staaaaaahp!" Collapsing his head into Berwald's chest, he came, shuddering against Berwald's body, sending shots of white to land on his rippled stomach.

Berwald was about to be pushed off the edge, too. He could feel it building... 

_Knock knock._

"Tino?" 

_Knock knock. _

"Mr. Väinämöinen? Are you in there?"

"Shit..." Berwald cursed under his breath.

Tino glanced up at the door. "It sounds like Agneta," he whispered. Noticing the look of stress on Berwald's face, he almost laughed. "Wanna cum?" he added seductively, flicking his tongue against Berwald's earlobe. "Then cum."

It was too much. He shuddered against Tino, spilling his essence between their bodies. His tense body relaxed and he gave a little smile. It had been a while since he had felt like this.

Tino noticed Berwald's little smile. He brought their foreheads together, whispering, "I love you."

"I love ya too." Berwald lay there, panting, unable and unwilling to get up and wipe himself off. He wanted to ignore all outside disturbances (like that incessant knocking at Tino's door), strip naked, and clean Tino off. With his tongue.

Tino was still collapsed on top of Berwald, enjoying their little pause. He wished the door could just answer itself, or at least have Agneta go away.

One of his wishes was granted. The doorknob turned and clicked, and Agneta peeked in. "Tino, are you home?"

Still in his post-cum daze, Tino failed to realize that his jeans were pooled around his ankles and sticky blotches of white stained his abdomen and thighs. However, Berwald did, and he was in no more of a composed state than Tino. He quickly moved to grab a pillow out from under them and cover their nakedness as Agneta looked their way.

The woman gasped in shock. Berwald wanted to slap himself. No matter which way he looked at hit, it was definitely a compromising position to be caught in. Instead, he managed out a weak, "Hullo."

"Ah! I'm... Uh... Sorry... I'll wait outside." She left hastily, shutting the door behind her.

Tino got up, reaching for the box of tissues on the coffee table. "I wonder what that was about," he mumbled, wiping himself off.

Berwald sat up and grabbed some tissues for himself. "She's th' woman we left Pete' with, isn't she?"

"Yeah. She's a nice woman, I'll explain to her later." He re-buttoned his jeans around his waist, looking perfectly normal and like he hadn't been screaming in ecstasy minutes earlier.

Before Tino opened the door, he spun around, grabbed Berwald, and pulled him down into a forceful kiss, leaving him dizzy as Tino greeted Agneta with a warm smile. "Hi, Agneta! What was it you wanted to speak to us about?" he asked in his best neighborly tone.

"Well... um..." Agneta stepped aside to reveal Peter standing behind her large skirts. "You told me to bring him back in three hours, and it's been three hours." 

_Shit,_ Berwald cursed mentally, _I hope he didn't see anything..._

Agneta leaned in, easing Berwald's fears with a smile and a, "Don't worry, he didn't see anything."

"Ok, thanks." Berwald let out a sigh, relieved that his seven-year-old son had avoided the scarring sight of his father, the epitome of purity (_maybe not anymore, _he thought) getting down and dirty with his to-be mama. He let Peter run into his arms, thanking Agneta for watching him, and closed the door behind her as she left.

Tino was back on the couch, beckoning Peter over to come and sit on his lap. He nuzzled the boy, cooing ego-stoking compliments and kissing his goldenrod-hued hair. Berwald joined them, an arm around Tino with Peter between them.

Peter turned to Tino, a wide smile on his face. "Mama," he said, leaning into the Finnish man, "I love you!"

Tino almost wanted to cry. Whoever had said the most precious thing in the world was a child's smile, they were right. "Ah... Peter..." He put his arms around the little boy. "I love you too!" He began to sob. "Oh man... This is the first time... A child told me they love me..."

Peter hugged Tino back, panicked. "Ah! Mama! Did I make you cry?"

"*Hic* No... It's all right..."

Berwald smiled. It was like they were already a family. He took another look around the room. Even after (almost) having sex in it, he couldn't get used to how gross it looked. It almost hurt a little bit.

"Tino," he said, a finger placed on his strong chin thoughtfully.

"Yes?"

"How would ya like t' move in with us?"

* * *

><p><strong>Continued...<strong>


	8. Chapter 8

**Happy Holidays. A present from me to you, another chapter, so soon after the last one! :P  
>Although I've been updating pretty quickly.<br>Man, this fic is pretty much writing itself.  
>Also, thanks for the reviewsstory alerts/faves, guys. 3 Good to know I don't suck. :P  
><strong>

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 8<strong>

"How would ya like t' move in with us?"

Tino blinked.

"I mean... Maybe not now, if ya don't want t', but just a thought..." Berwald added hastily.

"No, I like that idea. Keep talking."

"I want mama to live with us!" Peter sat back in Tino's lap. Tino stroked the boy's hair.

"I think I'd like to," he said quietly, biting his lower lip, "It's probably obvious, but I'm always alone. And," he motioned around, blond brows arching in displeasure, "this isn't exactly the best place for anyone to live." He scooted closer to Berwald. "Plus, I like it with you two. It's sort of like... Something warm. Family. I dunno how to describe it, but," he smiled, "it's like I'm being drawn to a light. I like it."

Berwald squeezed Tino's shoulder, pulling him closer. "B'fore I met ya, after Pete's mother left us..." he looked down, trailing his other hand along his son's face, "t' was a hard time on papa."

"I'm sorry..."

The taller man gave a small smile. "Don' sweat it... I'm actually glad it happened. I never would'a met ya otherwise." He leaned down, planting a kiss on Tino–no, his wife's–lips. They smiled at each other for a moment, until Berwald scratched his cheek and said sheepishly, "So... Yea... I can help ya bring yer stuff over next week..."

Tino laughed. "Actually, most of it is still in boxes, so packing shouldn't take too long."

Peter yawned. "Papa, mama, I'm tired..."

"Yeah, the kid's right," Tino added, rubbing his eyes, "I'm pretty wiped myself."

"I guess it's time to say good night."

"Yeah."

Another silent pause. Nobody really wanted to leave, but Berwald reluctantly got up and led Peter to the door. Tino followed to see them off.

"Hey," Berwald mumbled as he crossed the threshold, "I love ya."

Tino leaned up and kissed him, softly and slowly. "I love you too, Ber." The adoration in his eyes set Berwald's heart a-flutter.

"I'll be back Friday morning, how's that?"

"Sounds good."

They said their goodbyes, Tino waving as he closed the door behind them. Berwald and Peter buckled themselves into Berwald's Volvo and had been on the road for a while when Peter piped up.

"Why were you and mama naked?"

_Oh, shit._

**XxX**

Tino's tiny house felt empty without his... er, husband and son in it.

Wait. Husband and son?

He ran a hand through his sand-colored hair, smiling to himself. _I guess so,_ he thought, _I think every day would be fun._

Suddenly, his cell phone rang, startling him out of his dreamy state. He scrabbled for the device, checking the caller ID. Eduard!

"Tino!" Eduard sounded excited.

"Eddie! What's up?"

"Is your date over yet? How'd it go? I'm ripping my hair out from the anxiety!"

Tino sighed. It was like this every time Eduard heard about one of his dates: he would call at exactly 9:30 PM, begging for all the gory details. This time was no different, and Eduard knew all about Tino's other dates with Berwald. He found it slightly irksome that his technology-savvy best friend knew all the juicy gossip on his love life, but if it made Eduard happy (or shut up), it was all right.

"Yes, my date is over," Tino said. "We canoodled on the couch and made kissies and stuff like that. Any questions?"

"_Jah,_ so many!" Tino had to hold the phone away from his ear because Eduard's voice was so loud. "So first..."

"Oh man, not this question again..."

"Yes, it's this question again." Eduard took a deep breath over the phone. "Did you guys do it yet?"

Tino was silent.

"Is that an affirmative silence I hear, Tino?"

"No, no, no, no, no!" The Finn denied, Eduard's question sending him into a dither, "I mean, maybe, but–"

"Yes, or no?"

"Argh! That's the problem! Yes! No! I dunno! Can I tell you about something other than my sex life?"

"No!"

"But I'm happy for you!" whined Eduard.

"Well, if I see another fucking post on Facebook about how 'happy for me' you are, I will sneak into your house at night and shave your head." Tino answered, cross.

"Okay, okay, but as a concerned best friend, I have to know if this guy is good enough for you." Eduard pouted.

"He's good. Very good. Too good," said Tino, "I'm serious, I've only heard of guys like this in those dumb romance novels Ivan's sister always reads. And it's not an act or anything, he's sincere!"

"Ooh, good. He's Ivan's polar opposite."

"Exactly! And..." Tino's voice grew quiet. "I love him. It's like I'm part of their family now. Hell, his son calls me 'mama'." He gripped his knee. "It's like... I feel safe with him, y'know? Like... He was sorta scary at first glance but that's only when he's nervous and..." _Oh God, shut up, me._ The words were falling out of his mouth. He was gushing like the teenage girl he wasn't.

"And what?"

"And..." Tino took a deep breath, "I'm gonna move in with him."

"That's good," Eduard said, "You've got a guy who isn't a dick and you're gonna be a... er, mama!"

"I know... I'm so happy..."

"Now, while we're talking about dicks..."

"Eduard Von Bock, I have shaving cream and I am not afraid to use it."

"Oops, shutting up now."

**XxX**

"So papa, why were you and mama naked?"

Peter followed his daddy into the kitchen. Berwald ignored his question. "Did ya have fun with th' other kids?" he asked, avoiding his son's eyes.

"Ayup! I did!" He took a seat at the kitchen island. "So why were you and mama naked?"

Berwald almost dropped the pot full of tap water he held. "Um... How does pasta sound for dinner?"

Peter gasped. "Pasta? I like pasta!"

"Yea, m'client gave me a good recipe for Italian pasta!" Berwald replied over-enthusiastically, glad that his son had finally stopped asking that dumb question. "I went shoppin' yesterday, got all th' ingredients right here." He put the pot on the stove and turned it on, going to the refrigerator and pulling out some vegetables to chop up.

"So, papa," Peter began, "why were you and mama naked?"

Berwald let out a loud yelp and dropped all the vegetables on the floor. Peter was not impressed.

"Papa," the boy said, "I'm gonna keep asking 'til you answer."

The larger man sighed, picked up the fallen produce, and put it on the clean surface of the kitchen island as he sat down next to his son. "Never thought I'd be tellin' ya this 'til you were older," he sighed wistfully, "but I guess ya kids grow up fast now'days."

"Papa. I'm seven."

Berwald continued, "Uh... Yea. Papa really loves mama," he scratched the back of his neck, "So papa wants t' hug mama. 'Nd bein' naked is comfortable. Yea."

Again, Peter was not impressed. "Oh. 'Cause Raivis told me..."

_Oh God, I really don't want to hear this... _Berwald thought. Thankfully, the water in the pot was starting to boil, and he took the opportunity to end the awkwardness, rush over to the stove, and empty an entire box of noodles into the bubbling water. "So, Pete', how're ya doin' in school?" he asked.

**XxX**

"G'bye, kiddo. Have fun in school t'day." Berwald leaned over to kiss his son on one of his pudgy cheeks. "I'll pick ya up at three, 'kay?"

Peter unbuckled his seatbelt. "M'kay, papa."

"I love ya," he ruffled the boy's hair.

"Love you too, papa." Peter opened the door, stepped out of the car, and disappeared among the throngs of children. Berwald stepped on the gas and pulled away, not especially looking forward to another day spent in his house.

Alone.

He couldn't wait until the day his lovely Finnish angel would move in, and coming home after dropping Peter off at school would stop bringing around disappointing feelings. He wanted to be able to yell, "I'm home!" as he walked through the doorway and be responded with a, "I'm in the kitchen!" or "I'm in the living room" or something like that, then follow the pretty voice to find Tino watching the news or making lunch and surprise him with a hug from behind.

Just for the hell of it, as he walked through his front door, he called out, "'M home!"

As he expected, there was no reply.

Dejectedly, he plopped down on the couch and had barely got himself when his Blackberry buzzed from his back pocket. _Shit, _he thought, reaching for the device and checking the caller ID.

It was his client, a rich, ditzy, Italian man named Feliciano and his partner, a German named Ludwig. He knew both of them quite well after spending so much time with them; Feliciano would flit around constantly gabbing about which furniture he liked and rejecting Berwald's recommendations (he probably didn't mean bad, he was just a bit self-centered), while Ludwig would calmly sit across from the Swede with a catalog opened in his austere hand.

"Hullo?" Berwald said.

"Mr. Oxenstierna!" Feliciano giggled into the phone, "Luddy and I want you to come over right away! He bought the chair you recommended and it looks great!"

Wow. For once, they had listened to him.

_Why not, I have nothing better to do,_ thought Berwald. "Sure. I'll be over soon."

"'Kay, thanks! Seeya!"

He hung up, getting off the couch and feeling around for his keys. At least he didn't have to be alone.

**XxX**

Feliciano and Ludwig's home in Sweden was a large modern house set high on a hill surrounded by open space, contrasting with the bucolic scenery. Berwald drove through the gate, parked in front of the house, and was barely up the front steps before Feliciano whipped open the door with a giant smile across his face. "Mr. Oxenstierna!" the Italian rushed up to greet him, not caring about his expensive-looking Armani suit (why would someone wear that at home, Berwald wondered) getting wrinkled as he ran. "Look at the room!"

Ludwig and Feliciano led Berwald into the living room he had been designing for the past several weeks. It was perfect, pristine, and smelled like fresh wood and cardboard. He would have to bring in flowers sometime.

Marring the middle of th perfect room, however, was a flattened cardboard box and maybe eight-or-so large, cushioned, cloth-covered squares.

"Sofa?" asked Berwald.

"Yes! Isn't it cool, ve~?"

"It's kind of in pieces."

Feliciano turned his cheery face towards Berwald and Ludwig in turn, smiling slyly. "That's why I needed two strong muscle men to help me put it together~ Right, Luddy?" He squeezed Ludwig's bicep.

The two larger men glanced at each other and sighed, rolling up their sleeves. It was time to get to work.

**XxX**

The sofa didn't seem too hard to put together. Berwald and Ludwig worked together, chatting quietly while Feliciano flitted over to the kitchen to make them lunch.

"'M Envious," Berwald said, fitting a screw into place.

"Why?" asked Ludwig.

"You an' Feli live t'gether, right?"

Ludwig sighed. "Yes. Why would that make you envious?"

"When m'son is at school, I'm alone." Berwald mumbled, "you get t' come home ev'ry day t' someone in th' house."

"Guess so," Ludwig answered, testing the sofa to see if it was sturdy. "Living together isn't bad." He smiled wistfully. "I think I'd be sad without him."

Berwald thought back to his little snow angel, one of the nicknames he'd taken to calling Tino by, and smiled as well. "Yeah... Sounds nice..."

Feliciano sauntered back into the room. "Hey boys, lunch is ready!" he sang, beckoning them into the delicious-smelling kitchen with a wave of the ladle.

"Well, I guess we'd better go eat. Feli's pasta is amazing."

**XxX**

It was about two o'clock when Berwald and Ludwig finished building the sofa. The interior designer bid a farewell to his beloved clients, and, suddenly finding himself with a free hour before he had to pick up his son from school. _Eh, why the hell not, I'll see if I can bring some of Tino's stuff over now._ He sent out a text to his wife, who promptly responded, "_Yay, I'll see you here! I've already got some stuff packed. :D_"

He pulled into Tino's driveway. Tino saw him pull in and opened the door, rushing out and into Berwald's arms. "Is Peter at school?" he asked, noticing the empty backseat.

"Mm-hmm."

Tino pouted. "Aww, I miss the li'l bugger."

"Me too," Berwald murmured. "Miss you too. Can't wait 'til you move in."

"Neither can I," Tino kissed his lover's cheek, "That's why I have these boxes."

Berwald chuckled. "So... Y'want a big strong man like me t' move 'em for ya?"

"Mm... A big, strong man..." Tino reached up, drawing Berwald into a kiss. "My big, strong man..."

Tino had only a few boxes to load into Berwald's car. They all fit in if they folded over the back seat. "Not bad," Tino said, surveying their work. "Thanks for helping me."

"Always," Berwald replied, kissing his lover again, deeper and harder. Tongues lashed and teeth clashed, wandering hands feeling up each others' bodies, then...

"Ah." Berwald pulled back. "I need t' go pick up Pete' now."

"Okay..." Tino replied, unsatisfied,

Berwald pecked a chaste kiss on Tino's lips. "I'll see ya later, 'kay? I love you."

"I love you too."

Tino watched his lover pull into the car and leave. He sighed. There was something, a dark feeling, brewing in the pit of his stomach, and he didn't like it.

* * *

><p><strong>Continued like a mo'fo<strong>


	9. Chapter 9

**If there were any warnings in this chapter, I would have to say slight Russia-bashing. :| It's not that I hate him, I actually adore his character, I just find that he makes a great antagonist for Sweden and Finland. So sorry in advance.**

**I've been playing lots of Sims 2 for the past two days... I forgot how addicting it is. *0* I even made the hanatama family into Sims, they're so cute. **

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 9<strong>

During the week, Tino would pack up his things, Berwald would come over for a couple minutes, they would talk a little while loading his things into the Swede's Volvo, kiss a little until Berwald pulled back with a flush on his face, and he would leave. By Thursday afternoon, a lot of the smaller stuff was gone, leaving random boxes still scattered around his house.

What Tino wanted to know, though, was why Berwald didn't take anything further. They had already had a nasty make-out session, jerking each other off and cumming on their stomachs. The vision was imprinted into his brain; Berwald's taut stomach and abs splattered with his essence... He had to bite his lip every time he remembered.

Actually, why haven't they had sex yet? Something, anything, involving Finnish Tab A being inserted into Swedish Slot B or vice versa. He had seen his lover naked, and whenever he came over, they had a few minutes to spare, so why the hell not? Every kiss left him unsatisfied, wanting more, but each time the Volvo drove away with more of his stuff, the gnawing feeling of disappointment arose in his stomach. God. He was going to jump the man next time he saw him.

But definitely, things were going to change once he moved into the Oxenstierna household.

**XxX**

Friday morning. Berwald woke up, made breakfast, texted Tino to say that he'd be at his house in an hour, saw Peter off to school, then immediately rushed over to Tino's house only to get caught in the worst morning traffic ever.

"F'ckin' rush hour..." he grumbled. "Better text Tino..."

While stalling, he quickly typed out a text to his darling wife. "_Stuck in traffic, be there in a few minutes. I love you._" He sighed. Tino. He loved him so much it hurt. Every kiss he had to end early killed him a little inside, and one day when he was moving stuff to his house from Tino's, he caught a glimpse of his wife's dejected face after one of their broken-off kisses. It made him want to cry. He wanted to ravage Tino, make the man scream, but priorities came first: get Tino's stuff from his crappy house to Berwald's stunning home. Then sex.

Some loser tried to cut him off. He honked the horn and yelled out some not-so-fatherly curse words.

Man, was he backed up.

**XxX**

Friday morning. Tino woke up, surveyed his room, ate a quick breakfast, and taped the last of the boxes shut. Everything was all packed up (except for the things he was going to throw away, like that stupid lumpy couch), now all he had to do was wait for Berwald to come to the rescue in his Volvo, load his possessions in, and drive off to his new home and family. He would take care of selling the house all by himself, and even went the little extra mile to make it look nicer than it was (that stain on the wall was not coming out, though).

It had been a while since Tino had last checked his dating profile, he had been too busy with Berwald to even care. He guessed it was about time to delete it, he didn't want any other random strangers to come searching for him. He logged on with all intention of deleting his profile only to find that he had three unread messages, all from the same man. He almost screamed in terror when he laid eyes on the name.

**Ivan Braginsky [three weeks ago]:** Tino, it's been so lonely without you. Come back to Finland.

**Ivan Braginsky [four days ago]: **Tino, why aren't you answering me? Please come back, yes?

**Ivan Braginsky [three hours ago]:** Tino, I'm coming to get you.

He had been so happy with Berwald that he had almost forgotten about Ivan. Ivan, who made him so miserable. Ivan, who locked him inside their big house while luring other people under his spell. Ivan, who he caught in bed with his friend Toris. And yet there was a sick feeling of longing twisting inside his chest, sending the butterflies in his stomach into a mad dance.

_No, this is stupid!_ he thought. He picked up his phone and looked at the text Berwald had sent him: "_I'll be over in an hour and help you move stuff to my house, okay?"_

He glanced at the clock. The text had been sent nearly an hour ago; Berwald should be arriving any minute. He plopped down on his lumpy flowered couch, closed his eyes, and listened for the sound of Berwald's Volvo pulling into his driveway.

He did indeed hear a car. Maybe a taxi. _Why would Berwald be taking a taxi?_ he wondered, standing up. As steps sounded up his front porch, Tino waited by the door. A loud knock came from outside.

"Berwald!" he opened the door with a smile, "Come in!"

"Who is Berwald?"

Tino felt like he had been shot in the side. The tall man standing in front of him couldn't have been further from his boyfriend.

Ivan stood in his doorway, blocking Tino's view to the outside.

"What are you doing here?" he spat, biting his lip and crossing his arms, unaware of how sexy the pose made him look. Ivan ducked under the low door frame, allowing himself into Tino's house. "Hey, stop that. Get out." He protested weakly.

"Tino, you could have done better," Ivan looked around the room. "I thought you were more extravagant, da?"

Tino was silent.

"You still haven't unpacked either," Ivan let a sharp grin creep onto his face, sending chills down Tino's spine. "Are you planning to move back in with me?"

Tino froze. Could they really return to the life they had before, living in that oversized house under Ivan's oppressive thumb, after what had happened between them? Tino had to admit, back before he had caught Ivan with his pants down, so to speak, they lived a good life. Was it really possible to go back?

He took another look at the man standing before him. Ivan still was handsome, but too much had happened between them to consider following him home. Suddenly, his phone buzzed in his pocket. "Excuse me a moment," Tino said.

"Anytime," Replied Ivan in a sickly sweet, childish tone.

It was a text from Berwald. "_Stuck in traffic, be there in a few minutes. I love you._"

_I love you._

When was the last time he had heard Ivan say that? Not for a long while. Even as their relationship began to fail and Tino was trying to do his best to save it, Ivan had not even mumbled those simple three words that Berwald had whispered over and over into his ear.

"My, who is that from, my little sunflower?" Ivan asked in the same sickening tone, looking over Tino's shoulder.

"Berwald," scoffed Tino, putting away his phone, "my lover."

He knew that mentioning his new love around Ivan was like covering himself in Barbeque sauce and locking himself in a cage with hungry lions, and he could feel the aura around Ivan darken further. Looking up at the man, he could see Ivan's sweet smile strain at the corners. "Your... Lover?" Ivan's voice cracked.

"Yeah, what's it to you?" Tino turned to face Ivan, defiantly planting his hands on his hips. "We're not like before, Ivan. We could never be like before."

Ivan grabbed one of Tino's wrists with a vice-like grip and pulled him closer, sending him stumbling into his hulking form. "I'm not letting you away," he hissed, mouth still upturned in that sharp smile.

Tino struggled. Maybe before, he would have given up his right leg to return to being Ivan's eye-candy, but now Berwald had opened his eyes to how he should be treated and loved.

More sounds from outside. This one was the sound of a car turning, then the engine shutting off, then brusque steps up the front porch and a hand on the doorknob.

"Tino, 'm here!"

**XxX**

Finally, his wife was going to move in with him! Berwald was so excited. He could barely contain himself from running up Tino's stairs and crashing through the door, instead, he civilly walked up the porch steps and turned the doorknob.

The sight he was greeted with was not the one he expected.

Tino was there, yes, but there was another man, grabbing him by the wrists and waist as he struggled to free himself. _A burglar?_ thought Berwald, already making to tackle the intruder. He knocked into the man's side, effectively loosening his grip on Tino enough for him to wriggle free.

"Ivan!" Tino shouted, "Get out! You're nothing to me now. I don't give a shit about you. I want you out of my house, and don't stop 'til you're back in Finland!"

"Why should I?" Ivan sneered, rubbing his sore torso.

"Because I hate you! I want you out of my life! Never talk to me again! I love Berwald, I'm not going to go back to being your little Finnish eye-candy just because you say so!" Tino stood defiantly.

"No." The sharp smile was back on Ivan's face as he reached for the Finn once again.

"Oh no y'don't." Berwald leapt for Tino's ex-boyfriend's arm, twisting it with a strong grip and pulling the man to the door. From behind, Tino pushed him, shoving Ivan out the door and locking it behind them.

"I'm going to call the police," Tino said quietly," He might try to break in soon."

Berwald sat on the couch as Tino called the police. They arrived within five minutes, arrested Ivan, and left the couple, finally, in peace.

"You were great back there," Berwald said, wrapping his arms around Tino's waist. "'m glad t' have such a strong wife."

"I love you," Tino replied in a hushed whisper, kissing Berwald gently. "Saw the way you tackled him back there. Couldn't have done it without you."

"Saw th' way y' told him off back there. Sexy." His hands made their way down to grab Tino's ass. He deepened the kisses, swiping his tongue along Tino's bottom lip and pushing his hips forward to grind with Tino's.

Tino pulled back. "Wait, Ber, we have to move the stuff–" He glanced at the pile of boxes sitting near the door.

"That c'n wait fer a few minutes," he replied, unrestrained passion in his voice, moving in to place more heated kisses along Tino's neck and shoulders. "Want ya now."

Tino smiled. _I guess the moving can wait for a bit,_ he thought, _especially when Berwald's here._ He pat Berwald on the head. "Did you get turned on watching me tell Ivan off?" he snickered.

"Mm-hmm," came the blunt reply. Berwald nuzzled Tino's neck, hands amorously creeping up his shirt to explore the planes of his back. "Yer so strong n' sexy. Can't help it." Leaning his chin on Tino's shoulder, he looked up with a small smile, love glazing his eyes over. "Angel. Gorgeous. Amazing." He whispered, moving down.

"Wait, where are you going?"

Berwald kissed his stomach, using one hand to deftly unbutton and unzip Tino's jeans. "Down. Brace yerself."

Heeding Berwald's warning, Tino gripped the arm of the couch as his lover tugged his pants and underwear down, leaving Tino's bottom half completely exposed. Berwald chuckled, planting a soft kiss on Tino's erection. "Yer hard."

"Yeah, well, whose fault do you think that is?" Tino pouted, a rosy flush creeping across his cheeks.

"I'll gladly take the blame." Without warning, Berwald licked a broad stripe up Tino's cock, swirling around the head and dipping into the slit.

"...Fuck..." Tino gasped. "Not allowed."

Berwald grunted in response and did it again, lapping up the drops of pre-cum that dribbled out of the tip before taking Tino's entire length into his mouth and slowly bobbing his head up and down. A long, low moan escaped Tino's throat. Berwald went faster, using his tongue to tease the head and manipulating Tino's balls with his fingers. With each movement, the Finn bucked and squeaked, gripping the side of the couch so hard that his hands shook and his knuckles paled.

_Oh God..._ A week without Berwald's touch shouldn't have been so long, but it was, and pleasure overwhelmed him as he fell to his knees, cum shooting freely out of him.

It took him more than a few seconds to catch his breath. "Oh God, Ber... Just... Oh God..." he panted, fanning himself with his hand. Looking over at Berwald, he almost wanted to go for another round.

The larger man's face and glasses had been splattered by Tino's ejaculation, blotches of white dripping off his nose and chin. He regarded Tino with a small smirk, wiping the substance off with the back of his hand. Tino pulled his pants up and went to search for a napkin. "Oh my God, Berwald, I'm so sorry!" he scrambled. There were napkins in the kitchen and he brought several of them back for the silent man who still sat on the floor, wondering what to do with the semen on his hand and face.

Tino grabbed his boyfriend's chin with a firm grip and wiped away the cum, apologizing profusely. Even when Berwald was all clean, he kept apologizing. _Seriously, I did it all over Ber's face,_ he thought, scrubbing Berwald's cheek with a napkin, mortified.

"Tino." The Swede grabbed his lover's wrist, lowering his hand. "'s all right. No need t' apologize."

"You sure?"

Berwald quelled Tino's fears with a gentle kiss. "Now," he said, "Let's get you home."

"Home?"

"Our home."

* * *

><p><strong>A suivre...<strong>


	10. Chapter 10

**This is the second-to-last chapter. :(  
>Hooray for sex!<br>**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 10<strong>

They finished packing the last of Tino's possessions into Berwald's Volvo. Even though the tiny house was now devoid of anything save for that stupid old couch, it didn't seem bigger at all.

Tino quickly did a once-over of the entire house, retrieving anything he had left behind and locking the door behind him as Berwald loaded the last box into his trunk and slammed it shut. "Tino, ya ready?"

"Yup, everything's golden," he skipped down the steps and took his place in the car's front passenger seat. Berwald got into the driver's seat, started the engine, and they were off.

"We need'ta pick up Peter at school on th' way," Berwald said.

"Perfect!" Tino replied cheerily, "I haven't seen the little bugger in forever! Oh, when we get to your house, we should play games! And maybe we could watch a movie and..."

Berwald smiled as Tino went on and on about what they could do. He took Tino's hand, silencing him. "We'll have all th' time in th' world," he said softly as he pulled into the pickup lane at Peter's elementary school. Children flooded out the doors, relieved to finally go home and relax on a Friday afternoon. Tino's heart leapt with joy as Peter bounded up to the car, opening the door and sliding into the back seat among Tino's boxes.

"Hi, papa!" he cheered, kissing his papa on the cheek, "Hi, mama!" He gave Tino a kiss as well and flopped back down. "What's with all the boxes?"

"Well," Berwald said, grinning, "your mama is finally going to move in with us!"

Peter gasped. "No way!" he replied in pleasant shock, "Really?"

"Really!" Tino smiled at the boy through the rearview mirror. "Mama's going to be living with you and papa from now on!"

Peter let out a loud yell. "Yay! Mama's gonna live with us! Are you gonna sleep with papa?"

Berwald coughed loudly.

"Of course," Tino replied quickly, "mamas and papas can sleep together, can't they?"

Peter nodded slowly, bright blue eyes focused on his parents.

"Uhm... How 'bout we celebrate t'night?" Berwald said hastily, scrabbling for a topic change before his wife and son could delve further into the subject of what mamas and papas did in bed. "What d'ya wanna do?"

"Beat mama in _Quantum Sniper II_!" Peter pouted, "He won last time!"

"You're on, kiddo." Tino grinned at his new son.

Peter grinned back. "I'm gonna get ya, mama!"

Berwald sighed and smiled at his wife and son, watching their friendly squabble about headshots in video games Peter probably shouldn't be playing but plays anyway. "What d'ya want for dinner?" He asked.

"_Janssons frestelse_!" Peter exclaimed. "You make it the best, papa!"*

Berwald nodded. "We can pick up some potatoes an' sprats on th' way back."

"I'll help cook!" Tino cheered.

**XxX**

The afternoon was spent unloading Tino's stuff, putting it with the other boxes, deciding to procrastinate on unpacking, and lounging around as a family. Peter did indeed manage to beat his mama in _Quantum Sniper II_, but "only because I let him," according to Tino. Berwald simply looked on from the couch with a coffee, refusing to side with anyone, until Tino decided to get revenge with a tickle attack.

Tino and Peter had somehow teamed up and jumped on Berwald, hands spidering up and down his sides. They knocked him over barely before he could set down his coffee only to find out that Berwald was wildly ticklish, and let out a series of high-pitched screams as they tickled him, eventually collapsing into a cuddly pile on the couch.

"I didn't know you were so ticklish," Tino sighed, cheek pressed against Berwald's chest.

"There's lotsa stuff yer gonna learn," Berwald kissed Tino's hair and ruffled Peter's. "Glad you're with us, Tino. I love ya."

"Love you too." Tino leaned up and gently brushed his lips against Berwald's cheek.

"Eww, mama and papa are being icky!" Peter teased in a sing-song voice.

Berwald blushed. _I swear, this kid is going to be the death of me,_ he thought.

Tino decided to use the awkward moment as a subject change. "Uh... How about we go cook dinner now?" he asked. The other two hastily nodded and got up, already anticipating the delicious _Janssons fretelse_ for dinner.

**XxX**

Tino found that in this family, everything was fun, even tedious chores like making dinner. He, Peter, and Berwald divided up the tasks, then turned on the radio to have some music as they worked and danced around the kitchen. It turned out Berwald was a great dancer, to his surprise. He never would have expected the tall, bear-like father to be able to move his hips like that! He licked his lips. Berwald's hips swayed under those snug-fitting jeans as he chopped potatoes. Delicious.

They ate dinner together at the table. It was delicious; they had done great job cooking, with yummy results.

After dinner, they turned on the TV again to watch the Friday Night Movie that was showing on the cable network, and Berwald lit the fireplace. They curled up on the sofa, Berwald in the middle flanked by his wife and son, all snug under a large blue-and-yellow fleece blanket.

The movie was long. It was getting late, and Peter was already asleep against his papa's shoulder.

"Cute," Tino whispered, reaching over and brushing the child's hair away from his brow.

"I'll go put him t' bed," Berwald stood up. With unsurprising ease, he picked up his son and carried him up to his bedroom, Tino following. They gently lay him down on his bed and tucked him in.

Peter shifted, his sleepy eyes cracking open. In a heavy voice, he sighed, "Love ya, mama, papa," then rolled over and gave a soft snore.

"Love you too."

Tino and Berwald tiptoed out, shutting the door quietly behind them.

**XxX**

"You're a great papa," Tino mumbled.

He and Berwald were back on the couch, the movie still playing on the TV. Tino leaned against Berwald's shoulder, the larger man stroking his soft blond hair. "Yer a great mama," Berwald answered.

"Aww."

Berwald glanced over at the TV. "Are we still even watchin' this?"

"To be honest, I stopped watching an hour and a half ago." Tino chuckled, turning the TV off.

"I was too busy watchin' som'one else," Berwald tangled his hand in Tino's hair, gazing at the Finn lovingly over the rims of his glasses.

_Shit,_ thought Tino. _Definitely aroused._ Now that Peter had been put to bed and Berwald and Tino were alone, Berwald looked less like a big papa bear and more like, well, a sexy beast, to put it bluntly. He leaned back on his low, stylish couch with a tired smile on his face, slowly popping open the pearly buttons of his button-down shirt, enough so that he wasn't stifled and was exposing a healthy bit of collarbone and chest muscle that Tino just wanted to run his hands over. He leaned into Berwald's side.

"T'no, are ya okay?" he asked.

"Mmm." The Swede really did smell nice. There were traces of cologne on his shirt, but what Tino really liked was his natural scent. He breathed in. He smelled like warmth. A warm house with a fire, a freshly-made dinner... All the things that made him feel safe and happy.

Berwald slipped an arm around Tino's shoulders to pull him closer and grazed his lips against his cheek. Tino jolted. Those thin lips of his were surprisingly soft. He could feel his face reddening as he looked into Berwald's sea-glass-green eyes.

The dim light from the fire highlighted his high cheekbones, sharp jaw, and straight nose. _Man oh man I want to kiss him so bad._.. His only thoughts, repeating like a mantra in his head and circling around to repeat again. He reached up to rest one of his dove-like hands on Berwald's cheek.

Berwald's stare wavered for a mere fraction of a second, only to see Tino's tongue peek out to slide against his upper lip. Their faces were really close. Too close. Tino's fingertips rested against his cheek felt like a branding iron, burning his touch into his skin.

_Man oh man I want to kiss him so bad..._

They moved closer.

_Man oh man I want to kiss him so bad..._

The first brush of lips ignited a spark as blue-green eyes met violet. It was Tino who made the first move, taking Berwald by surprise. He kissed him slowly, savoring the feeling of their lips pressed against each other. There was no need to rush.

Sometime during that kiss, they had realigned their bodies. Now Tino straddled Berwald's lap, his back to the fire, pressed flush against the Swede by strong arms wrapped around his waist and hands pushing their way under his sweater.

Tino's hands, tangled in Berwald's flaxen hair, pressed against the back of his neck to force the man closer. He wanted more.

Suddenly, Berwald pulled back. Tino sighed in disappointment, his kiss-swollen lips slightly parted. "What's wrong?" he asked.

His lover only looked over the rims of his glasses and smirked, removing one of his hands from under Tino's shirt and trailing calloused fingers down his jaw. "Beautiful," he breathed. His other hand went to cup Tino's ass, groping and massaging through his jeans.

"Fuck," breathed Tino, "don't do that..."

"Why? I've wanted t' do this fer a while. A long while." Berwald reached up, unbuttoned the rest of his shirt, picked up one of Tino's hands, and pressed it flat against his chest. "Y'feel m'heart beatin'?" he asked, "'S all fer you." He looked directly into Tino's eyes, his sea-green ones boring into the younger man's violet ones. "Better t'just come out 'nd say it. I love ya, wife."

"Oh God..." Tino leaned forward, burying his head in the crook of Berwald's neck. "I've been waiting so long to hear that from you..." he whispered, placing kisses along the skin he found there, "I love you too, husband."

Berwald drew in a sharp breath. _Husband._ The word sounded so delicious coming from Tino's mouth. "Say that again," he growled.

"What, husband?"

"Yes."

Tino smirked. "You're so silly, _husband._" He kissed Berwald again and again, grinding his hips into his lap. The Swede moaned, trailing his hands up Tino's stomach and chest to push his lover's sweater over his head.

Tino's bare skin glowed in the firelight, jeans slung low on his hips. "Take off your clothes, too," he mumbled, slowly slipping Berwald's shirt off and undoing his trousers. Suddenly, Berwald shifted so that Tino lay under him on the couch. He stood up at full height, doffing the rest of his clothes. Tino wriggled out of his jeans and spread his legs, beckoning for Berwald to look at him.

_Delicious._ The Swede leaned over, trapping his lover underneath, and trailed his fingers down Tino's chest, following with kisses. "Wanna touch you all over," he whispered, lazily dragging his tongue across Tino's perk nipples. His hand snaked down to cup Tino's erection, making him moan and grab at Berwald's hair.

"Oh God oh God oh God..." Tino muttered. Berwald's hands were huge and hot, leaving warm spots on Tino's body as they roamed, trying to drink in the texture of Tino's skin. "Please... Ber..." His hips wiggled, seeking friction and finding none. It was like Berwald was purposely avoiding all the spots he wanted him to touch. "You tease..." he choked out.

Berwald almost didn't know where to begin. He had the sexiest man alive naked and writhing under him, begging for his touch, and he wanted to savor and worship every centimeter of his body. He massaged down Tino's legs, which wrapped around his waist to try and bring him closer. Losing his balance, he fell on top of his lover, who took the advantage of the sudden proximity to leave a hickey on his collarbone.

"You're mine," Tino whispered, tracing the shell of Berwald's ear with his tongue and lifting his hips to grind against Berwald's erection.

Berwald responded by leaving his own hickey on Tino's neck. "Yer mine too," he mumbled into his lover's ear. "I love ya, Tino." He reached between them, gripping both their cocks and rubbing.

"Mmm... I love you too... Oh God, keep doing that."

"What, this?" He gave a gentle squeeze.

Tino moaned, grabbing the sides of Berwald's face and pulling him into an open-mouthed kiss. Their tongues slid against each other sensually, playing and dancing, too engrossed in their passion to notice the drool dribbling down their chins.

Between the couch cushions, there was a small bottle of lube. As they broke off their kiss to get some much-needed air, Berwald extracted the bottle and dabbed some of the liquid onto his fingers. Tino looked on expectantly. Looks like Swedish Tab A was going to be inserted into Finnish Slot B after all. He spread his legs wider, an invitation for Berwald to gently prod at his opening with a slick finger, sliding one in. Tino drew in a sharp breath at the welcome intrusion, sand-colored bangs flopping over his forehead. Berwald slipped in another finger, thrusting and stretching. It felt delicious, but Tino wanted more. He pressed back onto his lover's fingers as a third one was added. But Berwald's fingers were only so long; they couldn't reach that one spot where he wanted them. "Please, Ber..." he whimpered, reaching up to hide his face with his hands, "I need you... Your fingers don't reach... Where I like it..."

Tino's lusty cries spurred him to quickly withdraw his fingers and slick up his erection. He aligned himself up, the tip of his cock resting against his lover's throbbing hole, and leaned in for a kiss as he thrust in.

The sensation of suddenly being filled by Berwald's large cock sent Tino gasping and moaning into the kiss. He scrabbled at the larger man's back and wrapped his legs tighter around his waist, driven by desire.

The painful seconds it took for Tino to adjust to Berwald's girth felt like years filled with impatient pleas to move and create more delicious friction. Finally, Berwald drew out and pushed in again, all the way to the hilt, ramming into Tino's prostate, eliciting a muffled scream. He pulled out and drove in faster and faster, creating a rhythm as Tino bucked his hips to meet his thrusts in the pornographic slap of skin-against-skin.

Balancing on one hand, Berwald wrapped the other around Tino's twitching cock and rubbed feverishly, bringing the Finn closer and closer to ecstasy.

One last tug, one last thrust, and Tino had gone over the edge, spilling his seed all over their stomachs and Berwald's hand, muscles contracting spasmodically around Berwald's erection. The Swede followed, filling his lover and riding out his orgasm in a couple slowing thrusts before collapsing in a sweaty heap on Tino's chest.

They waited for their erratic heartbeats to calm and come down from their dizzying high, exchanging murmured vows of love and sweet smiles. Ideally, they would have simply fallen asleep on the couch together, naked and covered in their own sweat and come, but no. There was a child upstairs who they had to look presentable for, and neither of them thought that finding papa butt-naked on the couch on top of mama was the best thing to wake up to for a seven-year-old boy. Quickly and quietly they cleaned up and showered together before turning up the thermostat and flopping down on Berwald's bed, not bothering to put on clothes. At least if Peter barged into their room Saturday morning, he would be saved from things he didn't need to see for another fourteen years by the blanket Berwald pulled over him and his sleepy new wife.

"_Jag alskar dig,_" he mumbled against Tino's hair.

"_Mina rakastan sinua,_" was the sleepy sigh he received against his chest

* * *

><p><strong>*Janssons frestelse is a casserole with potatoes, onions, sprats, bread crumbs, and cream. I haven't tried it but my friend showed me a picture and it looks delicious. <strong>

**To Be Concluded...**


	11. Chapter 11

**Last chapter, guys. :c  
>Happy New Year.<br>**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 11<strong>

"Maaaa-ma."

"Oof!"

"Paaaa-pa."

"Pete', what're ya doin?"

"Waaaaake up!"

Tino and Berwald sat up in bed, squirming under the weight on their stomachs. Peter had dashed into their room and climbed on top of them, holding his teddy bear Walter and wearing his white puppy-dog print PJs.

Berwald reached up to pat his son's hair. "What's up, Pete'?"

Peter pointed to the clock on Berwald's nightstand. "Lookit the time, papa!"

Berwald had to bite his tongue to keep from swearing. "Ten-thirty?" remembering that he was still naked, he leapt out of bed and grabbed a bathrobe off the back of a chair to clothe himself. "Did'ja eat breakfast yet?"

Peter buried his face into Tino's chest to avoid having to look at his papa's butt. "Yeah," he answered, "I ate cereal. Papa, why are you naked?"

Berwald fastened the belt of the bathrobe around his waist, blushing. "'M not naked, what're you talkin' about?" He grinned cheekily at his son, picking him up and hoisting the boy over his shoulder.

"But you _were_ naked!"

"But I'm wearin' clothes now." Berwald winked at Tino and carried Peter out of the room to give him some privacy to dress. In the spirit of lounging around, Tino rifled through Berwald's drawers until he found a pair of clean boxers and an oversized pajama shirt. He put those on, taking a moment to marvel at Berwald's incredible height as the pajama shirt hung around his thighs, rolled up the sleeves over his hands, and shuffled downstairs to join his new husband and son in the kitchen.

**XxX**

Later that morning, Tino found his laptop, sat down on the couch with a cup of coffee, and logged on to HetaliaDatingService for the last time.

"Thanks for everything," he mumbled into his coffee with a small smile. He scrolled over to his account preferences, moved down, and clicked "delete account".

_Deleting account... 20%_

He glared at the screen. Clearing his data shouldn't be taking this much time.

_Deleting account... 34%_

"Tino!" Berwald popped his head into the room. "Did'ya want one egg or two?"

"Two," Tino called back, setting down his laptop. "Wait for me, I'm coming!" The deletion could proceed without him, he wanted to join his husband in the kitchen with eggs.

_Deleting account... 47%_

Tino grabbed two eggs out of the fridge, shutting the door with a bounce of the hip. He tossed them to Berwald, who caught both of them in midair without any breakage. "Nice catch," grinned Tino.

"Nice throw," Berwald grinned back.

_Deleting account... 64%_

The eggs sizzled on the skillet, creating a warm aroma which wafted through the kitchen. Berwald wrapped his arms around Tino's waist as they watched the eggs fizzle and pop, Peter doing his weekend homework on the kitchen island. "Hey papa," the boy piped up, "do you know what 'long division' is?"

Berwald scratched his head. Long division was one of those things one knew really well but couldn't explain. Tino slipped out of his grasp and sauntered over to Peter, looking over his shoulder at his homework. "Ah, I think I can teach you."

"Really, mama?" Peter looked up with excitement.

"Mm-hmm," Tino answered, taking a seat on the stool next to his son. "Let me see your pencil..."

_Deleting account... 88%_

"...And that's how you do long division. Did you get seven as your quotient?"

Peter's eyes sparkled. "Ohhh, I see now! Thanks, mama!" He leaned up and kissed Tino's cheek.

"Aww, anytime, love." Tino ruffled Peter's hair as Berwald finished cooking the eggs and was ready to serve them.

"Speakin' of love," Berwald slid a plate with two sunny-side up eggs in front of Tino and shot him a small smile. "Made wit' love from yer husband." He took a seat next to Tino with his own plate of eggs and began eating.

"Aww." Tino nudged his hand under Berwald's. "I love you too."

_Deleting account... 100%_

_ Account deleted._

**XxX**

Tino checked up on his laptop again to find that his dating profile had finally been deleted. He shut off the computer, leaving it on the coffee table, and decided to see what was playing on TV on a Saturday afternoon.

Nothing really interesting, just some soaps he didn't really care to watch. Peter had gone out to go see one of his school friends and Berwald had taken the car and driven him. He lay on the sofa, stretched out, eyes glued to the TV out of lack of anything better to focus on. And he felt his focus slip away at the mind-numbing programs...

**XxX**

"Hav' fun at Raivis's," Berwald waved his son goodbye, Peter bounding up to the Galante doorstep eagerly. "I'll pick ya up at four, 'kay?"

"'Kay, papa!"

He pulled out of the driveway and onto the road. This time, he had no qualms about going home, because this time, he wouldn't be alone.

The traffic wasn't too bad and he made it home within fifteen minutes. He was more excited about this than he should have been, but finally, for the first time in a long while, he would be coming home to a house with somebody waiting for him. Eagerly clomping up the doorstep to escape the early winter cold, he burst into the house yelling, "I'm home!"

His spirits fell when there was no immediate reply. "I'm... Home?" he repeated, undertones of ambivalence creeping into his voice and mind. "Tino?"

The only sound in the house was the faint humming of the TV. He followed it into the living room, and the sight that greeted him eased his doubts.

Tino was draped across the sofa, an arm hanging off and resting at an angle on the floor. Berwald smiled and brushed his sleeping lover's cheek gently. Tino looked so peaceful when he was asleep: long, smoky lashes barely brushed his cheekbones, his pale pink lips were slightly parted and from between them escaped the small coos of his snores. Berwald reached for the remote and turned off the TV, picking Tino's arm up off the floor and resting it across the sleeping man's stomach.

The movement roused him. Tino's violet eyes fluttered open. "Hey," he mumbled groggily.

"Hey y'rself, sleepy," Berwald brushed Tino's sandy fringe out of his eyes. Granted, coming home to a near-silent house once again wasn't what he wanted, but his wife's drowsy smile as he reached up and drew him into a slow kiss made his heart flutter.

"Love you." Tino sat up and ran slender fingers through his sleep-mussed hair.

"Love ya too." Berwald sat on the couch next to him, winding an arm around his shoulders and shuffling his hands through sand-hued silken hair. He sighed.

This was the life.

**XxX**

It was evening and Berwald had a little bit of work to finish up on the computer while Tino made dinner and Peter badgered his new mama with the desire to maybe get a puppy, pretty please?

He logged on with the intention of finishing up typing the report he was supposed to send to Mr. Vargas and Mr. Beilschmidt, he only had a little bit to go, but on a whim, decided to break in the middle and check on his dating profile. He wouldn't be needing it anymore, so why keep it around? When he checked, he found that Tino had already deleted his and smiled. A good sign, a sign that they would be together for a long time, maybe even forever, he hoped. He clicked "delete account" and resumed his work.

_And that's... The last... Sentence... Done!_ Berwald leaned back, satisfied, and reached for the bottle of eye drops he kept on his desk. Working in front of the computer really dried his eyes out, but at least he was done and could fax the report to Feliciano and Ludwig.

There was a knock on the door. "Come in," Berwald said, squeezing the artificial tears under an eyelid.

Tino entered. "Ber, dinner's ready."

Berwald switched to moisten his other eye. "Just'a sec," he answered, "dry eyes." This eye was harder than the other one; he kept dropping the bottle and couldn't keep his eye open. Tino approached, picking up the small bottle of artificial tears off the floor, and perching himself on the edge of Berwald's desk.

"Need help?" he asked. Berwald nodded. "Okay, hold your eye open and look up."

Carefully, he positioned the tip of the bottle a couple centimeters above Berwald's eye and squeezed. The cooling liquid fell into his eye, and he blinked, feeling the relief the eye drops offered him. "Thanks," he said, getting up and holding out his hand. Tino graciously took it, hopping off the desk.

"Now how about some dinner?" he asked.

Berwald smiled, kissing his wife's hand. No words needed to be said; they walked out of the office and down the stairs to join their son at the table.

It was a good life they lived; a happy family and true love. Neither Berwald nor Tino could have asked for anything better.

**THE END**

* * *

><p><strong>It's been a good run, everyone. Thanks for all your reviews and stuff, to be honest, they were the things that kept me going.<br>I think this is the first multichapter fic I have ever finished, haha.**

**Thank you for reading. *bows in gratitude*  
><strong>


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